The invention described herein is related to the field of post-mounted mailboxes, and more specifically, to a mailbox mounting apparatus which permits a mailbox to be manually extended from the post toward the roadway adjacent the mounting post.
In rural areas, mailboxes are usually mounted on posts adjacent a roadway to allow a mail carrier to deliver mail from an automobile without having to exit the vehicle. A rural mailbox typically has a standardized design generally comprising an elongated metal box with a semi-cylindrical top and a hinged door at one end. The base of the box is recessed to create a skirt around the bottom perimeter of the box with screw holes for fastening the box to a support stand.
In the winter, roadway snow plowing frequently creates a snow buildup along the side of the road, making it difficult to gain access to the mailbox to either insert mail into or retrieve mail from the box. In this situation, it is desirable to be able to temporarily extend the mailbox closer to the roadway in order to facilitate ready access to the interior of the box by the mail carrier who may not deliver the mail if the box is not readily accessible. There are many examples in the prior art of devices intended to permit a post-mounted rural mailbox to be extended forwardly; i.e., toward the roadway from the post mount. However, the prior art devices tend to be mechanically complicated, subject to rust and corrosion, are incompatible with standard mailboxes and/or are difficult to assemble.
It is an object of this invention to provide a slide mount for a rural mailbox which is easy to operate, rustproof, stable, simple to assemble and compatible with a conventional mailbox.
To that end, my invention is an improved, slidable mount for a conventional rural mailbox with a recessed bottom and an edge skirt. It comprises a molded plastic base member which is attachable to or integral with a ground post, and which provides a plurality of fixed, parallel, horizontal slideways. My invention further comprises a molded plastic, movable slide member having opposite side surfaces and a plurality of parallel slide elements which interlockingly and complementally fit into and around the slideways of the base member in a tongue and groove fashion such that the opposite side surfaces lie to the outside of the interlocking assembly. The shapes of the slideways and elements is such as to prevent disassembly of the slide member from the base other than by sliding movement. Further, my slide member is sized and shaped to conform essentially to the cavity on the underside of the mailbox so as to allow the edge skirt to fit snugly over the side surfaces of the movable slide member. Screws or the like can be inserted through the skirt and into the movable slide member to attach the mailbox thereto.
In the preferred embodiment hereinafter described in greater detail, I further provide a unidirectional stop between the base and slide member which permits the slide member to be complementally inserted into the base member for assembly purposes, but which prevents removal of the slide member from the base member, and also provides a mechanical stop as the slide member is retracted from the base member. In my preferred embodiment, I also place a handle on the forward, outside edge of the slide member to assist the user in sliding the mailbox out and back along the slide axis.